Babaco is a fast-growing herbaceous shrub with great commercial potential because of the organoleptic properties of its fruit. Babaco mosaic virus (BabMV) is a potexvirus in the family Alphaflexiviridae affecting babaco in all the provinces that produce this crop in Ecuador. BabMV was recently described but it has been affecting babaco for decades and, since many potexviruses are serologically indistinguishable, it may have been previously misidentified as papaya mosaic virus. Based on the coat protein (CP) gene, we aimed to study the distribution and epidemiological patterns of BabMV in babaco and chamburo over the years and to model its three-dimensional structure. Sequences of the CP were obtained from thirty-six isolates from plants collected in the main babaco-producing provinces of Ecuador between 2016 and 2021. The evolution rate of BabMV was estimated at 1.21 × 10−3 nucleotide substitutions site−1 year−1 and a time of origin of the most recent common ancestor around 1958.80. From molecular dynamics simulations, compared to other proteins of BabMV—RDRP, TGB1, and Alkb domain—the CP exhibited a higher flexibility with the C and N terminals as the most flexible regions. The reconstructed viral distribution provides dispersion patterns which have implications for control approaches of BabMV.

Jackfruit is an exotic fruit that has aroused interest due to its size and nutritional potential. Therefore, this study aimed to quantify the physicochemical properties of pulp, seeds, peel, and leaves of Artocarpus heterophyllus. The fruit was collected at three stages of maturity (M1, immature; M2, physiological maturity; and M3, commercial maturity) and left at two sets of vegetative development (NL, new; OL, old). Weight, size, soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, moisture, ash, phenolics, carotenoids, organic acids, saponins, antioxidant and antimicrobial activity were determined. Bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity were used in a solution obtained by microextraction, and quantification was performed using spectrophotometric methods in microplates. The results showed a high concentration of total phenolics in the leaves (50.78 mg GAE 100 g−1 DW in M1) and carotenoid in the pulp of M3 (316.8 mg β-carotene 100 g−1 DW). At the same time, malic acid was mainly found in the pulp (3,077.7 mg 100 g−1 DW in M1), saponins in the leaves (11.3% in NL), and antioxidant activity in the pulp and seeds of M1 (3.8 and 4.2 mmol TE g-1 DW, respectively) and M2 (4.0 and 4.3 mmol TE g−1 DW, respectively). In turn, leaves showed inhibition of Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus mutans, and Staphylococcus aureus. These results highlight the diversity and relevance of chemical constituents in different parts of jackfruit and their potential benefits for human health, including the leaves, seeds, and shells.